The Starling Saviour

Chapter 52

I woke up in a dingy, small box-room, sat up against a wall. Seeing I wasn't tied down or restricted, I went to stand up, but my legs wouldn't work.

'Curare,' The Count's voice came from the doorway.

Curare was the same drug I had encountered on the island, which had nearly prevented me from saving the prisoners from the freighter I had been held captive on too. It had been the drug that had made me make the hard choice of injecting the Anthony Ivo's fake Mirakuru into my bloodstream.

'You like your drugs, don't you?' I talked back impertinently. 'Why am I here, anyway?'

'You know... Too much,' The Count grinned sadistically. 'Oliver Queen may have gotten away, but his girlfriend Aria Coleman won't.'

'I am not his girlfriend!' I exclaimed, but it probably wasn't the best time to debate about relationships. 'How do you know who I am, anyway?'

'Everyone knows who you are,' The Count laughed at my naïvety. 'You were missing for a year, and then came back under mysterious circumstances. You were a hero for the police department, but you try to pretend that you're only a Forensic Scientist.'

'What is that supposed to mean?' I inquired, annoyed at the whole situation, especially the fact that I was too weak to fight The Count off.

'You're not who you say you are,' The Count correctly deduced. 'I did my research, and I know who you really are, Sapphire Saviour.'

'You... You're mistaken,' I growled rather unconvincingly. 'I am just a... A regular Forensic Scientist who took self defence classes. I'm not some vigilante!'

'Save your breath,' The Count smirked, showing me a bag of Vertigo pills. 'Recognise these? I've recently increased the dosage, and I want you to be my next test subject.'

'Never,' I spat, but The Count ignored me, yanking my head back and forcing two pills down my throat.

At once, I felt energised, as if someone had flicked a switch in my brain to make me forget about all the pain and horrors I had endured in my life. I was suddenly carefree, and I could stand again as the Curare seemed to wear off.

'Doesn't it feel good?' The Count grinned wickedly. 'That you can do anything you want and forget everything!'

I started seeing flashing lights and hearing beautiful music, everything feeling so much more vibrant and happy.

'I have more!' The Count exclaimed, encouraging me to use more of the drug as he passed me the open, clear bag.

I took another of the pills, my high increasing by the second. Starting to feel dizzy, I went to sit down, uneasy and a bit queasy.

'Just... One... More,' The Count said slowly, trying to make me take yet another pill.

As I was about to do his bidding, a black arrow shot the bag out of my hand, it hanging off the arrow which now was in the wall beside me.

Merlyn?

The next few minutes were a blur in my Vertigo-fuelled mind, two silhouettes fighting and one carrying me out of the building I was being held in.